The procedure for accrediting social services is carried out under the conditions of Law no. 197/2012 regarding Ukrainian the quality assurance in the field of social services, with subsequent amendments and is provided in Government Decision no. 118/2014 for the approval of the Methodological Norms for the application of the provisions of Law no.197/2012, with subsequent amendments and completions, chapter II, section 2 - Accreditation of social services. Licensing of social services is carried out in the following situations: a) initial licensing (when the provider requests licensing for the first time or in the case where licensing is requested after its withdrawal) and b) obtaining a new operating license (re-licensing), in the case of social services whose licensing period expires. This procedure describes the evaluation and certification activities of meeting the minimum quality standards by granting the initial operating license.

Licensing of social services is carried out at the request of the provider, for social services defined at art.27 para. (1) of the Social Assistance Law no. 292/2011, with subsequent amendments, and which are found in the annex to Government Decision no. 867/2015 for the approval of the Nomenclature of social services, as well as the framework regulations for the organization and functioning of social services.

The provider is obliged to request initial licensing or the issuance of a new operating license of the social service at least 60 days before the commissioning sop of the social service or, as the case may be, from the expiration of the operating license. To request the licensing of social services, the provider must obligatorily hold an accreditation certificate as a provider, granted under the conditions provided by Law no.197/2012 regarding quality assurance in the field of social services.

Licensing of the social service involves the following steps: a) evaluation of the social service based on minimum quality standards; b) approval or rejection of the licensing request of the social service; c) issuance of the provisional operating license/operating license or, as the case may be, notification of the rejection of the licensing request; d) registration of the licensed social service in the Single Electronic Register of Social Services, updated monthly on the website of the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection.

The initial licensing of the social service consists of:

a) verification of the data and information from the accreditation file documents of the service (the application for accreditation of the social service - annex 7 to GD 118/2014, the self-evaluation sheet - annex 9 to GD no.118/2014 and the supporting documents provided in art. 18 para (1) of GD no. 118/2014 with subsequent amendments) submitted by the provider, based on which the provisional operating license is issued (valid for a maximum period of one year) and is registered in the Single Electronic Register of Social Services, or, as the case may be, a decision is issued to reject the granting of this license;

b) conducting, at least 3 months before the expiration date of the provisional operating license, by social inspectors a field verification of compliance with minimum standards, based on which the operating license is issued (valid for 5 years) or, as the case may be, a decision to reject the granting of this license. Social inspectors check the compliance with legal operating requirements and the conformity of the data presented in the supporting documents and the self-evaluation sheet with the field reality.

c) in the situation where, during the field evaluation, it is found that the legal operating conditions, the conformity of the data presented in the supporting documents with the reality in the field, and the minimum standards are met in a proportion of 75%, without jeopardizing the life and safety of the beneficiary, it is proposed to maintain the provisional operating license and a deadline is given to remedy the aspects that led to the non-fulfilment of the minimum standards, so that a new field evaluation visit and recommendation to issue the operating license can be carried out within the period provided in let. a);

d) in the situation where, during the field evaluation, it is found that the legal operating conditions are not met, either by/through finding the non-conformity of the data presented in the supporting documents with the reality in the coordinated field, or by finding the non-fulfilment of the minimum standards at least in the percentage provided in let. c), contravention sanctions are applied, the provisional operating license is withdrawn, and the respective social service is deleted from the Single Electronic Register of Social Services.

The supporting documents of the licensing file are the following:

a) the document attesting to the right of administration, concession, or use of the space in which the social service operates, such as: land registry extract for information, commodatum contract, lease contract, concession contract, administration contract, swap contract, etc.;

b) the legal act/document regarding the decision of establishment of the service, as the case may be;

c) the regulation of organization and operation of the social service, developed in compliance with the framework model approved by GD no. 867/2015, with subsequent amendments and completions;

d) photographs of the spaces related to the social services, at the: time of requesting accreditation;

e) the CV of a person with qualifications in the field of social work or in social services management;

f) a copy of the employment contract or services contract concluded with the person provided at let. e);

g) the provider's commitment to notify the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection or, as the case may be, the institutions under its subordination, namely the National Authority for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, Children and Adoptions (ANPDCA), the National Agency for Equal Opportunities between Women and Men (ANES), about any changes regarding the social service for which the operating license was obtained, that occurred after the granting of this license, completed according to the model provided in annex no. 8, depending on the beneficiaries of the social service;

h) the emergency plan in case of withdrawal of the operating license/closure of the social service, if provided in the applicable minimum quality standard.

Regardless of the category of beneficiary persons to whom the social service is addressed, its accreditation file can be sent electronically in non-editable format to the email address acreditare@mmuncii.gov.ro, can be submitted directly to the registry of the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection, or can be sent by Country mail, with acknowledgment of receipt. The licensing application of the service, the self-evaluation sheet and the supporting documents are also sent to the email address of the accreditation department, on the date of submission or sending by post of the accreditation file of the service

Resolution of licensing files of services is carried out within 60 calendar days, calculated from the date of registration of the service’s licensing application in the special register of applications for accreditation of social services. The deadline can be extended by a maximum of 15 calendar days, in which case the accreditation department notifies the provider regarding the duration for instating the application for licensing and the reasons for its extension, before its expiration.

The operating license is issued for a period of 5 years for all types of social services. The provisional operating license period is included in the period of granting all of the respective social service's operating license. Within 30 days from the closure or termination, by the provider’s decision, of a licensed social service, the provider is obliged to notify the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection for the issuance of the decision to terminate the validity of the operating license and to delete the respective social service from the Single Electronic Register of Social Services.

Decisions regarding the rejection of service accreditation, as well as decisions regarding suspension and withdrawal of accreditation may be challenged according to the Administrative Litigation Law no. 554/2004, with subsequent amendments and completions.

The legislative framework regarding the accreditation of social services providers / accreditation of social services can be viewed on the MMPS website, by variably accessing the link http://www.mmuncii.ro/j33/index.php/ro/2014-domenii/familie/politici-familiale-incluziune-si-asistenta-sociala/4849.